Sunday, 28 April 2013

Scene 55: New Regular Feature - the Weekly Scene

I have decided to create a new, weekly feature for my blog. Taking some advice I've had recently from a producer, I am going to be trying to write a scene, or work at a script, every single day. To help do this I'm also going to post an original scripted scene on my blog every week, which is an idea not to dissimilar to that of one of my friends actually, who is writing a daily comic script on Facebook in his Comic Book Writing Challenge. All these scenes will be off the cuff and will be self-contained, stand-alone scenes - also in this case, and hopefully in future cases, I will have read the scene's dialogue out loud in an exercise to make the speech more natural. And to make it even more interesting you guys can suggest an idea for the scene each week! Just post an idea, a genre or even an object in the comments box below and I'll include it in my next scene! So here is scene number one, written after my own annoyed epiphany about Twitter and how it links into our celebrity culture.

INT. STUDENT BAR: DAYA large, modern student bar full of leather sofas and screeching, chattering students enjoying their Sunday.At the crowded bar SOPHIE, 21, in short dress and jacket buys a couple of drinks. RACHEL, 22, in clumpy shoes and worn jeans, waits for her, picking at her flaking nail polish.Together they wander through the tables glancing around - no room.They head to the glass doors and go outside, into the weak sunshine.EXT. STUDENT BAR GARDEN: DAYSophie and Rachel walk over to a picnic bench outside. They sit down.Sophie's phone buzzes. She picks it up, and tapping the screen. Rachel stirs the ice in her drink with a straw.

RACHEL

So...? You wanted to talk?

Sophie looks up from her phone.

SOPHIE

What? Oh yeah, yeah. Sorry. Twitter.

She slurps her drink through a straw quickly.

SOPHIE CONT'D

I love it. Are you on it?

RACHEL

What?

SOPHIE

Twitter.

RACHEL

No.

SOPHIE

Why not? It's awesome.

RACHEL

It's depressing.

SOPHIE

(pulling a face)

Twitter? How? Most of its funny. Did you follow Jimmy Carr? Oh my god, he is hilarious.

RACHEL

I don't think he's that funny.

SOPHIE

Well, how about someone else then? You could follow me!

RACHEL

(a bit sharp)

I don't want to follow anybody.

SOPHIE

Oh someone's in a mood.

RACHEL

I'm not in a mood. Twitter's just stupid. I mean why do people do it?

SOPHIE

So you can follow your favourite celebrities. That what I do.

RACHEL

Exactly! People just think that if they follow a celebrity on Twitter they're somehow closer to them. That maybe, just maybe, something they post will be replied to. But it won't. Because you know what, everyone's going to to be following them. Because in reality that person doesn't even know you exist. They exist in our lives, we don't exist in theirs.